KLEIN MEMORIAL

A memorial service for Herbert Klein will be at 10 a.m. July 14 aboard the USS Midway Museum. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to: Herbert G. Klein Lecture Series, University of Southern California, 3551 Trousdale Parkway, Administration 304, Los Angeles, CA 90089-4012.

On Feb. 12, 1973, shortly after a treaty had ended the United States' part in the Vietnam War, the first 40 American prisoners of war left Hanoi in a U.S. military transport.

Photographing the homeward-bound aircraft, an American on a diplomatic mission to North Vietnam imagined the passengers' emotions. “It was almost as if I could hear them shouting for joy,” noted Herb Klein, then the White House communications director.

Herbert George Klein, whose dedication to journalism and Richard Nixon gave him a ringside seat to some of 20th century America's highest and lowest moments, died yesterday morning. After suffering cardiac arrest, Mr. Klein, 91, was rushed from his La Jolla condominium to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

News of his death brought tributes from political and media colleagues.

“He was very much like an older brother to me,” said Pete Wilson, who moved to San Diego in 1963 on Mr. Klein's suggestion. As San Diego mayor, U.S. senator and California governor, Wilson often sought Mr. Klein's advice: “He was a mentor to me and a lot of people.”

Mayor Jerry Sanders also consulted with Mr. Klein. “Like many who benefited from his wise counsel, I will miss Herb,” Sanders said, “but I'll always remember the selflessness and optimism that guided him throughout his public life.”

Johnson speculated that the Watergate scandal would not have occurred “if President Nixon had kept Herb close by his side as his most trusted adviser.”

Karin Winner, editor of
The San Diego Union-Tribune,
was a friend of Mr. Klein's and a fellow University of Southern California graduate. “I really don't think he had any enemies, just people who might disagree with him on an issue or two, but even they would seek him out at a social function to ask advice or get his reaction to a new idea. He truly was dedicated to building brighter tomorrows.

“My tomorrows won't be the same without him.”

Mr. Klein's 51 years with Copley Newspapers, ending in 2003 after 23 years as editor in chief, made him a familiar figure in San Diego County. Nationally, though, Mr. Klein was best known for his long association with Nixon, starting as a reporter covering the novice Republican candidate's 1946 congressional campaign and ending 27 years laters in the West Wing.